ETHOS

By Paul Pennington

Well folks, unfortunately I’ve been pretty busy with papers and final as this school year ends. However, expect a new post very soon. In the mean time, I figured I would give you all something a bit more personal. The following transcript is from an email exchange between me and a young, white college female. To set the stage, I was sending out an email on the Penn SLAP listserve to coordinate our next meeting…hilarity ensues.

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Paul:

So we (SLAP) are going to meet this Sunday (2/22) at 7 P.M….this is very very
extremely important…so basically show up. Seriously. The entire movement
depends on this meeting. If you don’t show up then millions of people will
perish. It is our time as elite and privileged students of an ivy league
institutions to lead these poor people to the promised land. We are the
Talented 10th the best and the brightest folks. Let’s make the movement happen.
Most importantly it’s time to fight the Man. Down with Whitey (Sorry Eric) So
grab your old negro spirituals, picket signs and costumes and meet in room ***
of Du Bois…WORKING CLASS PEOPLE UNITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. bring your kufis, africa medallions, sandals and radical/”Why I Love Black
Women” pieces for an impromptu, yet necessary poetry slam

Paul:

My apologies for offending anyone who rocks kufis, believes that they are in the
talented 10th and exclusively loves black women…It has been a very long
day…seriously though be at room *** in Du Bois this Sunday (2/24) at 7
PM…otherwise I actually will be slightly annoyed and/or openly abrasive and
hostile towards you.

MaDWhitEWoman783@ihaveadream.com:

Paul et al,

I must admit I was not only offended but disappointed in this e-mail that I assume was mistakenly sent to me. I may be, by face, a “whitey” or daughter of “the man” but, at heart, I am an activist. Furthermore, I have devoted the past two and a half years of my life to this campaign and in no way has elitism, privilege, or bigotry advanced our goals. Your university may lead you to believe that by the location of your classroom and the tens of thousands of dollars you pay them, that you are entitled to so deeply insult those who have worked to improve the conditions of their neighbors. The movement is all encompassing and work is work no matter how you are educated. I refuse to believe that since we go to a school and not an “institution” we are somehow unequal in our abilities. The labor movement is not about the “best and brightest” leading the “poor people”. It is about communion amongst people Black, White, Hispanic, poor, rich, or otherwise. Did Dr. King refuse a hand extended in friendship because it was white? Did Lucy Parsons find herself any less of a revolutionary because she married Albert? Only when we begin to look at ourselves as people and not as classifications can we progress. I hope that some of you will be attending the GROW today and that we can work as equals to do what we have come to do: attain justice.

Paul:

Well then…I suppose the right thing to do would be to lean towards the side of
optimism for the sake of reconciliation and “solidarity”. So with that in mind
I cannot simply assume that you understood my email to be completely sarcastic.
Although basically everyone else that read the email laughed at my dry wit and
what they saw as blatantly obvious sarcasm, I can not make the assumption that
you would see it that way. I suppose humor is defined by the person. I suppose
I cannot assume that one would note the sarcasm in lines such “If you don’t
show up then millions of people will perish.” and “Down with Whitey (Sorry
Eric)”, the latter literally referencing my roommate, my dear friend and most
importantly my lighter hued comrade Eric. I suppose that my references to “old
negro spirituals, picket signs and costumes” was not blatantly sarcastic enough
and for that I apologize. However, I believe that it is important to clear up
some of the contentions made in the rebuttal. I apologize for the “Down with
whitey” comment, I’m sure that stings in a place that I as a black person can
never fully understand. I apologize for not referring to Temple as an
institution, the next time I make an abrasively humorous email, I will make a
special note to call Temple an institution (although Temple was not even
relevant to the comments made in my email). I also apologize for making any
references to Penn students as the “elite”, It’s not like anyone in these
organizations have called themselves “Working Class Heroes” and thusly I should
not even joke about such elitism and romanticizing as a student. Sincerely (note
there is zero sarcasm here), we believe the exact same thing, outside
“interestingly” placed evoking of MLK I’m sure I would have written the same
type of email that you did. That is why this whole situation is utterly
perplexing. Again I cannot assume that just because everyone else understood
the email as being crazy sarcastic, including people who don’t really know me
that well, that you would either. Really it’s all love. Next meeting we can
sing the chorus of Ebony and Ivory or something I guess…(sarcasm)

.

Eric:

.

Wait…so you weren’t being serious in the part about bringing my
medallions, sandals, dashiki, and kufi? Damn it!

MaDWhitEWoman783@rainbowcoalition.com:

I understood the sarcasm. I just didn’t appreciate the joke. I’ve been burned a few too many times. I appologize for the offense.

.

FriendlywhiteMan2008@notmail.com:

.

I don’t know. I thought it was funny.

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In no way was this incident fabricated or taken out of context. This ish really happened. She actually attempted to invoke the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the way only her white, liberal, “colorblind” demographic has been able to do. What I find funny is that out of everyone mentioned in my first email, (Spoken Word Poets, Black Nationalists, Elitist “Working Class Heroes, etc.) it was the young white female who took most offensive. As usually Whitey McWhiteman always has to be number one (sarcasm.) I actually love the white man. Well at least his women (sarc…on second thought never mind).